Tropical Storm Arthur is expected to brush New Jersey’s coast this week, fueling flooding rains and producing potentially deadly rip currents up and down state beaches through the holiday weekend, forecasters say.

Arthur, which is currently packing winds of 60 miles per hour off the coast of Florida, is expected to parallel the Eastern Seaboard Thursday and Friday before being rocketed out to sea by an approaching cold front. Arthur may make it's closest approach to New Jersey as a minimal hurricane, but its center is expected to remain well over 100 miles off the coast.

But before it passes, forecasters say the storm will feed moisture into the northeast and that will interact with an approaching cold front and could produce frequent heavy downpours and thunderstorms Thursday afternoon into Friday morning that could drop upwards of 3 inches of rain across the state, with locally higher amounts.

The rain could cause flash flooding in many areas, potentially hampering travel ahead of the July 4 weekend.

“I think the heaviest period of rain probably comes between and probably through midnight,” said Nick Troiano, a meteorologist at WeatherWorks.

But Arthur’s biggest threat is expected to come after the storm passes. Winds wrapping around the storm are expected to produce heavy surf along the coast and ideal conditions for rip currents – which kill several people at New Jersey beaches each year.

“That’s going to be one of the main concerns because of the track of Arthur,” said Larry Nierenberg, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Mount Holly office. “We’re looking at an elevated threat of rip currents at least into Saturday if not into Sunday. The sun’s going to be shining on Sunday, the sun’s going to be shining on Saturday, but people should be aware that this elevated threat still exists.”

Forecasters and emergency officials urge any beachgoer planning to swim in New Jersey waters this weekend to pay attention to posted conditions, listen to the guidance of lifeguards and only swim on guarded beaches.

Despite the ominous outlook, it does appear increasingly likely that conditions should clear in time for Independence Day fireworks.

“The good thing is by Friday evening, things should be completely over if not winding down,” Nierenberg said.